Banknote conveyor

ABSTRACT

A banknote conveyor which includes moveable means for transporting a banknote, the means engaging frictionally with the banknote at at least three points so that the force driving the banknote is dependent on the rigidity of the note. The banknote can further swivel about one of the points to align the note with a desired path. Also provided is a means for limiting the movement of the banknote if the force required to convey the banknote exceeds a predetermined limit and means for preventing the insertion of banknotes or other foreign objects into the conveyor when not in use.

The invention relates to the transport of banknotes or other sheets ofvalue, which are referred to simply as banknotes. The invention will bedescribed in relation to banknote changers which are used in changemachines and vending machines to receive, transport, store and dispensebanknotes.

Specifically, the invention is concerned with the uptake and alignmentof banknotes. The uptake of banknotes involves the initial engagement ofthe banknote by the mechanism of the changer. Aligning is necessary sothat the banknote has the correct orientation when transported to otherfunctional units of the changer such as an acceptor where the banknoteis verified. Misalignment of the banknote can cause jamming of themechanisms in the changer and incorrect verification.

A number of methods and associated apparatus are known in the art forthe uptake of banknotes. The most common method is to pinch the notebetween two rollers and convey the note by rotating the rollers. Thebanknote is then aligned by being conveyed against a reference surfaceso that the reaction of the surface against the moving note causes thenote to swivel and thereby align with the reference surface.

This method exhibits a number of disadvantages. The force exerted by therollers on the banknote is constant. Banknotes are variable in qualityand a poor quality banknote is less rigid than a better qualitybanknote. On occasion, a jam in the uptake or alignment mechanism willoccur when a poor quality banknote is conveyed against a referencesurface causing the banknote to fold instead of swivel, resulting in amisalignment of the note and a subsequent jam. A further disadvantage isthat rigid objects such as credit cards may be inserted into the uptakemechanism which may jam the mechanism.

It is however desirable to use as great a force as possible whenconveying the banknote to ensure that the banknote is properly aligned.

Another method of banknote uptake involves creating a suction by use ofa fan to displace air. The force of the suction is then used to engagethe banknote with a driving belt. Although this arrangement lessens theincidents of jamming, banknotes which are crumpled or have lengthwisecreases may still cause a jam.

WO-A-02/49945 discloses apparatus for transporting a banknote whichincludes a curved transport path so that a banknote being transported isbent to increase its rigidity.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,767, EP-A-0 749 926 and EP-A-1 167 260 discloseapparatuses for transporting documents wherein the documents are foldedto facilitate the transport process.

It is desirable to provide a banknote uptake and alignment mechanismwhich prevents the insertion of rigid objects and avoids jams caused bypoor quality banknotes.

Aspects of the invention are set out in the accompanying claims.

In a further aspect of the invention a banknote conveyor engages abanknote with a force which is dependent on the rigidity of thebanknote.

Preferably, the conveyor engages frictionally with and bends thebanknote so that the frictional force between the conveyor and thebanknote is dependent on the rigidity of the banknote.

The banknote conveyor may engage the banknote at a plurality of points.

The banknote conveyor may further convey the banknote against a firstreference surface so that the banknote rotates, moving relative to atleast one of the points.

The points are preferably arranged to maximise the distance between apoint of rotation and a point of contact of the banknote with thereference surface.

The banknote conveyor may convey the banknote against any one of tworeference surfaces and the points may be arranged so that a force due tothe conveyor is applied near a middle of the banknote when rotated.

The banknote conveyor may define a banknote path which includes aplurality of contacts which engage with a banknote, at least two of thecontacts engaging the banknote on opposite sides of the banknote.

The points of contact may form part of an undulatory surface. In apreferred embodiment, the banknote path is defined by two spaced,complementary surfaces. The surfaces may be spaced by a gap defining abanknote path which may be in the range of 0.1 mm to 3 mm and ispreferably 1.5 mm. This distance will depend on, among others, thenumber of points of contact and the coefficient of friction of thematerial of the points of contact.

The conveyor may include at least two cams, each engaging the banknoteat a point Preferably, a first cam engages the note at two, spacedlocations and a second cam engages the banknote at a third point locatedon an opposite face of the banknote and the cams rotate to convey thebanknote.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, the banknote conveyor includesa plurality of corrugated rollers which rotate to convey the banknote.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, a banknote conveyor isprovided which includes two opposed complementary surfaces forming anentryway, at least one of which moves to convey a banknote, and whichincludes means preventing the insertion of an object into the entrywaywhen the at least one surface is stationary.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, a banknote conveyor isprovided which includes means for limiting movement of the banknote whena force with which the banknote is conveyed exceeds a predeterminedlimit. The conveyor may further include means for detecting the forceand means for inhibiting movement of the banknote when the detectedforce exceeds the predetermined limit.

Movement of the banknote may be inhibited by slowing the banknote down,by stopping or reversing the motion of the banknote.

In a preferred embodiment, the banknote conveyor acts as a banknoteuptake and the banknote is rejected if the force exceeds thepredetermined limit.

Preferably, the means for limiting the movement includes a first gearengageable with a second gear by biasing means so that the predeterminedlimit is determined by a force required to overcome the biasing forceand disengage the first gear from the second gear.

The limiting means may include a first ratchet engaged with a secondratchet.

The limiting means may in addition or alternatively include an electricmotor wherein the movement of the banknote is inhibited by limiting acurrent supplied to the motor.

A further preferred embodiment incorporates a banknote uptake and abanknote aligner, both incorporating aspects of the invention.

In the drawings and accompanying description which follow, likereference numerals are used to denote common features.

Arrangements embodying the invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the operation of a banknoteconveyor according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 arranged to operate ina first mode;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 arranged to operate ina second mode;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a banknote conveyor according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a banknote conveyor according to a furtherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a banknote conveyor according to yet afurther embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the conveyor of FIG. 6 which has been installedin a support;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a banknote conveyor according to a furtherpreferred embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a further schematic view of the banknote conveyor of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a torque limiter for use with a banknoteconveyor;

FIG. 11 is an end view of a banknote uptake and alignment deviceaccording to the invention incorporating the mechanism of FIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the device of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of the device of FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 1, a banknote conveyor 10 operates by the frictionalengagement of three elements 14, 16 and 18 with a banknote 12. Theelements 14, 16 and 18 move to convey the banknote 12 in a desireddirection. These elements move in a plane perpendicular to, or in aplane parallel to, the plane of the drawing to convey the banknote. Theoperation of the invention is not however dependent on the direction ofthis movement. Both modes of operation are described below withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

X is the distance between elements 16 and 14, Y the distance betweenelements 14 and 18 and D the degree of overlap between element 14 andelements 16 and 18 in the plane defined by the banknote 12 and definesthe amount by which the banknote is deformed. The degree of force whichis exerted by the elements 14, 16 and 18 on the banknote 12 will dependon the distances X, Y and D and on the rigidity of the note 12. If thedistances X, Y and D are maintained as constant, the force will dependonly on the rigidity of the note.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a bezel 20 incorporating the apparatus of FIG.1 illustrating a first mode of operation of the apparatus. The elements14, 16 and 18 move by rotating in a plane perpendicular to the plane ofthe drawing of FIG. 1 and the banknote 12 is conveyed in the directionof arrow 22. This is part of the process of the uptake of the banknote12 by the bezel 20. This movement will cause the side 24 of the banknoteto come into contact with a reference surface such as a corner 26 of thebezel. As the banknote is conveyed, the reaction of the corner 26against the banknote 12 will encourage the banknote to swivel in thedirection of arrow 28 with a force dependent on a distance R between thecorner 26 and a point 30 about which the banknote swivels.

FIG. 3 illustrates the apparatus of FIG. 1 installed in an aligner 30.In this mode of operation, the elements 14, 16 and 18 rotate in a planeparallel to the plane of the drawing of FIG. 1 to move the banknote 12in the direction of arrow 32. This movement brings a corner 34 of thebanknote 12 into engagement with a reference surface 36 causing it toswivel in the direction of arrow 38.

The force which causes banknote 12 to swivel about a point 40 isproportional to the distance R′ between corner 34 and the point 40.

As previously described, the elements 14, 16 and 18 engage the banknotewith a force which is dependent on the rigidity of the banknote and thisallows movement of the banknote relative to any of these points allowingthe banknote to swivel. The locations of the points 30 and 40 aboutwhich the banknote swivels will vary. These may be located at the pointof contact of any one of the elements 14, 16 or 18 with the banknote ormay (if the banknote moves relative to all three elements) be locatedbetween those points of contact.

It is therefore possible to arrange distances X, Y and D (FIG. 1) aswell as the placement of the elements 14, 16 and 18 relative to thecorner 26 or the reference surface 36 so that for any banknote therotational force due to movement against the corner 26 or the referencesurface 36 will overcome the force exerted by the elements 14, 16 and18, causing the banknote to move relative to one or more of those pointsand rotate. Thus, undesirable folding or bending of the banknote may beprevented.

For a given arrangement such as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, aless rigid banknote will undergo less force when coming into contactwith the corner 26 or the reference surface 36 than a more rigidbanknote would. A less rigid banknote will therefore be less susceptibleto undesirable folding or bending than it would be in an arrangementwhich conveyed all banknotes with an unvarying force.

For each arrangement it is possible that more than one reference surface(or corner) is provided against which the banknote reacts to causerotation. Furthermore, to encourage this rotation the direction ofmovement of the banknote may be inclined relative to a given referencesurface.

Although FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate three elements 14, 16 and 18 whichengage with the banknote 12, the principles described above are equallyapplicable to banknote conveyors which include a greater number ofpoints of contact with a banknote.

FIGS. 4 to 10 illustrate various embodiments incorporating theprinciples set out above.

FIG. 4 illustrates a banknote conveyor 50. A first cam 52 rotates in thedirection of arrow 54 and a second cam 56 rotates in the direction ofarrow 58. Cam 56 is formed with an eccentric portion which includes twonodes 60 and 62 which complement a node 64 of the eccentric portion ofcam 52. The nodes 60, 62 and 64 deform the banknote in the mannerdescribed in relation to FIG. 1 and correspond to the elements 14, 16and 18 of FIG. 1. With reference to the schematic illustration of FIG.1, the nodes 60, 62 and 64 move in a direction parallel to the plane ofthe drawing.

As the cams 52 and 56 rotate in the directions indicated, the banknote12 is conveyed in the direction of arrow 66 with a force dependent onthe rigidity of the banknote.

FIG. 5 illustrates a further banknote conveyor 70 where three rollers72, 74 and 76 engage frictionally with the banknote 12. As the rollers72, 74 and 76 rotate in the direction of respective arrows 78, 80 and82, the banknote 12 is conveyed in the direction of arrow 84 with aforce dependent on the rigidity. In this embodiment, the rollers 72, 74and 76 correspond to the elements 14, 16 and 18 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention. Two uptakerollers 80 and 82 are formed with raised portions 84 and indentedportions 86 to form corrugations. The uptake rollers 80 and 82 arearranged so that the respective raised portions 84 of one rollercomplement the indented portions 86 of the other roller. Provided that adegree of overlap between the respective raised and lowered portions ofthe uptake rollers 80 and 82 is provided, the banknote 12 isfrictionally engaged by the raised and indented portions in the mannerdescribed in relation to FIG. 1. The raised 84 and indented 86 portionsof the rollers correspond to the elements 14, 16 and 18 of FIG. 1.

Rollers 80 and 82 define a gap D′ through which the banknote 12 isconveyed. By varying the size of the gap D′, the force with which therollers engage the banknote is varied. The size of the gap in theembodiment illustrated is 0.2 mm but it is to be realised that a numberof other factors such as the coefficients of friction of the rollers 80and 82 will also influence the force with which the banknote isconveyed. The size of the gap D′ may therefore be altered to compensatefor such other factors.

The uptake rollers 80 and 82 rotate about respective axes 88 and 90 inthe direction of respective arrows 92 and 94. As the uptake rollers 80and 82 rotate, the banknote is frictionally engaged by the complementaryraised and indented portions of the rollers and thereby conveyed.

Although there are more than three points of contact with the banknote12, the force with which the banknote is conveyed is nonethelessdependent on the rigidity of the banknote.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the mechanism of FIG. 5 and illustrates theuptake roller 82 installed in a support 96 with respect to which theuptake roller 82 rotates. The roller is rotated by action on the cog 98.The support 96 includes a plate 100 which is formed to complement theraised portions 84 and the indented portions 86 of uptake roller 82 sothat a minimal space exists between the plate 100 and the uptake roller82. This prevents a banknote becoming frictionally engaged with theuptake roller 82 and being wrapped around the roller as opposed to beingtransported to the desired location. The same geometry is used for theroller 80.

The uptake mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 has the advantage thatthe undulate banknote path defined by the gap between the uptake rollers80 and 82 prevents rigid objects such as credit cards from beinginserted into the mechanism. The uptake rollers 80 and 82 may also bebrought into contact with one another to provide a seal. This is usefulduring a cleaning process, particularly when a high pressure water jetis used.

FIG. 8 depicts a banknote conveyor 110 which includes rollers 112 and114. Each roller 112 and 114 has indented 116 and raised 118 portions sothat the raised portions 118 of the one roller complement the indentedportions 116 of the other roller. Attached to each roller arecorresponding cogs 120 and 122 which engage with one another. A wormgear 124, driven by motor 126, engages with cog 122.

The motor 126, when activated, causes the worm gear 124 to rotate, inturn causing the cogs 122 and 124 to rotate. This rotates the rollers112 and 114. When the rollers 112 and 114 rotate, a banknote 12 may beinserted into the conveyor in the direction of arrow 128 which is thentaken up by the rollers and conveyed in the direction denoted by arrow128.

The motor 126 includes a brake so that the worm gear 124 does not rotateif the motor 126 is not operational. Therefore, a banknote can only beinserted when the motor is activated. This prevents the undesirableinsertion of banknotes or other objects when the conveyor 110 is notoperational.

The conveyor 110 is intended to be installed in a vending machine orother such device where the uptake and/or conveying of banknotes occurs.By preventing the undesirable insertion of banknotes, access by a userto the machine can be controlled and may, for example, be limited totimes when the vending machine is monitored or to prevent a user fromattempting to insert a note before being prompted to do so by thevending machine.

FIG. 9 is a further view of the conveyor 110 of FIG. 8 depicting therollers 112 and 114 with respective raised 118 and indented 116portions. The raised portions 118 have notches 130 formed in them. Whena banknote 12 is inserted into the conveyor 110 in the direction ofarrow 132 and the rollers 112 and 114 are not rotating (when the motoris not activated), the notches 130 act to prevent the banknote 12 frombeing inserted.

As illustrated, the notches have an asymmetrical profile defined by alead-in surface 134 and a bar surface 136. The lead-in surface 134 actsto divert the path of the banknote so that, when inserted, it is broughtinto contact with the bar surface 136. The bar surface 136 is orientatedsubstantially perpendicular to the lead-in surface and each notch of oneof the rollers co-operates with the raised portions 118 of the other ofthe rollers so that further motion of the banknote in the direction ofarrow 132 is prevented once the leading edge of the banknote comes intocontact with the bar surface 136. The notches 130 also act to preventthe insertion of other objects into the conveyor 110 such as creditcards. The notches may be provided with a symmetrical profile too.

FIG. 10 depicts a one-way torque limiter 140 which is used inconjunction with the conveyors herein described or with any otherconveyor, and is particularly useful where a document such as a banknoteis conveyed with a force proportional to the rigidity of the banknote.Ratchets 142 and 144 engage with one another and spring 146 acts againsta surface (not shown) and ratchet 144 so that ratchets 142 and 144engage with one another with a predetermined force.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the ratchets 142 and 144 have respectivecomplementary surfaces 152 and 154 each of which is asymmetricallyformed so that rotation of one of the ratchets relative to the other iseasier in the direction of arrow 148 than in the direction of arrow 150.

In use, ratchet 144 is connected to roller 114, for example, and ratchet142 is driven by a motor (not shown) so that a banknote engaged with therollers 114 and 112 is driven in the direction of arrow 148. The torquelimiter 140 acts as a clutch, and as the force with which spring 146brings ratchets 142 and 144 into engagement is predetermined, ratchet142 will move with ratchet 144 if the force applied in direction ofarrow 150 is less than a predetermined limit. Should this force exceedthis limit, the biasing force of the spring 146 will be overcome,causing ratchet 142 to move relative to ratchet 144, thereby inhibitingthe movement of the banknote.

The torque limiter acts together with a banknote conveyor where thebanknote is conveyed with a force which is dependent on its rigidity.Therefore, the biasing strength of the spring 146 can be chosen so thatthe conveyor will only act to convey banknotes having less than apredetermined rigidity. This prevents the unwanted insertion ofincorrect banknotes and unwanted objects such as credit cards.

It is to be realised that the torque limiter described above may beadvantageously used with the conveyor 110 described above with referenceto FIGS. 8 and 9; the notches 130 of the rollers 112 and 114 acting toprevent the insertion of undesirable objects when the conveyor is notoperational and the torque limiter 140 having the same function duringoperation of the conveyor.

A detector may be used to determine when the force required to conveythe banknote exceeds the predetermined limit. Once this limit isreached, the motor driving ratchet 142 can be stopped or reversed. Ifreversed, ratchet 142 will again engage with ratchet 144 and thebanknote will move in the opposite direction to arrow 150 and beexpelled from the conveyor.

The torque limiter described above is one manner in which the movementof a banknote conveyor may be limited in relation to the force needed toconvey a banknote. The force needed to convey the banknote may bedetected by known force detectors. The current to a motor drivingrollers 112 and 114 (or any other known conveyors) can then be limitedor reversed in dependence on the detected force.

With reference to FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 a banknote uptake and alignmentdevice 160 includes engaging uptake rollers 80 and 82, defining abanknote entryway, together with a bezel (not shown) having respectivecogs 98 and 162 which engage with one another so that the uptake rollers80 and 82 are driven at the same rate. Although the depicted uptake andalignment device has rollers 80 and 82 of the form described in relationto FIGS. 6 and 7, rollers 112 and 114 described in relation to FIGS. 8and 9 may also advantageously be utilised with the illustrated device160.

The device 160 further includes a gripping roller 164 and three aligningrollers 166, 168 and 170. Roller 170 is orientated below and in betweenthe rollers 166 and 168 in the configuration shown in FIG. 5. A motor172 drives the aligning rollers 166, 168 and 170 by means of a belt 174.The device 160 also includes two additional gripping rollers 176 and178.

A second motor 180 drives a belt 182 which, by means of axes 184, 186and 188 drives respective rollers 164, 176 and 178. The belt 182 alsodrives a cog 190 which, in turn, is engaged with a cog 192 which drivesthe cog 98 of uptake roller 80. Similarly, cog 190 also drives a cog 194which is engaged with the cog 162 of uptake roller 82 which is driventhereby. The motor 180 therefore controls the movement of the uptakerollers 80 and 82 as well as the gripping rollers 164, 176 and 178.

The operation of the device 160 will now be described. A banknote 12(FIG. 12) is inserted in the direction of arrow 196. A sensor (notshown) senses that the banknote has been inserted and activates themotor 180 which causes the uptake rollers 80 and 82 to rotate. Theuptake rollers engage frictionally with the banknote and cause it to beconveyed further in the direction of arrow 196 with a force which isdependent on the rigidity of the banknote due to the deformation of thenote caused by the complementary surfaces of the rollers 80 and 82. Thepoints of contact of the rollers 80 and 82 with the banknote alsofacilitate slippage of the note relative to the rollers. Therefore whenthe banknote 12 is inserted so that its path causes a collision with acorner 200 of the device 90, the reaction of the corner 200 on thebanknote 12 swivels the banknote thereby correcting its path. Thisprevents possible folding of the note which could result in the banknotebecoming jammed or not being correctly verified. This corresponds to themode of operation described above with reference to FIG. 2.

Once the banknote has cleared the uptake rollers 80 and 82 and thelongitudinal middle of the banknote has reached the location of thealigning elements 166, 168 and 170, the motor 180 is stopped and themotor 172 is activated, driving the alignment rollers 166, 168 and 170and conveying the banknote in the direction of arrow 198. This willcause the corner 202 of the banknote 12 to engage with the referencesurface 204 and the banknote to swivel around this corner until its side206 is aligned against the reference surface 204. This corresponds tothe mode of operation described above with reference to FIG. 3.

The rollers 164 and 176 are dropped and convey the banknote so that theroller 114 engages with it. The roller 164 conveys the banknote 12 fromthe uptake to the alignment rollers and rollers 176 and 178 convey thebanknote 12 further. The device 160 is generally installed in a banknotechanger (not shown) which is installed in a vending machine (not shown).The banknote is further transported to a banknote store or to otherfunctional areas of the vending machine.

In a further embodiment, the torque limiter 110 described with referenceto FIG. 10 may be utilised in the device 160 connected to either of therollers 80 or 82 or, in a further embodiment, the rollers 112 or 114 ofFIGS. 8 and 9 used in place of the rollers 80 and 82.

Furthermore, the torque limiter 110 may be used in conjunction with anyof the conveying arrangements herein described where the force withwhich a banknote is conveyed is proportional to the rigidity of thebanknote.

1. A method of conveying a banknote comprising: frictionally engaging atleast three points with the banknote so as to partially deform thebanknote, two of the points engaging opposite faces of the banknote; andmoving at least one of the points in a direction of intended movement ofthe banknote so that, at least during conveyance of the banknote, thepoints have a fixed relative spacing for any given position of thepoints and for any given banknote and wherein the at least one pointmoves to convey the banknote against a reference surface orientatedsubstantially in parallel with said intended direction of movement ofthe banknote so that the banknote rotates to align the banknote.
 2. Amethod according to claim 1 wherein the points are arranged in a line.3. A method according to claim 1 including moving the banknote relativeto at least one point while moving the at least one point.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 1 including inhibiting movement of the banknote if aforce required to move the banknote exceeds a predetermined limit.
 5. Abanknote conveyor comprising: at least two surfaces arranged tofrictionally engage opposite sides of a banknote so as to deform thebanknote and to move so as to transport the banknote along a directionof intended movement, said surfaces being arranged so that, at leastduring transport of the banknote, the surfaces have a fixed relativespacing for any given position of the surfaces and for any givenbanknote, said conveyor further including a reference surface orientedsubstantially in parallel with said direction of intended movement,wherein in the event of the banknote being conveyed against thereference surface, the banknote rotates so as to be aligned with thedirection of intended movement.
 6. A banknote conveyor according toclaim 5 wherein said surfaces define at least three points of engagementwith the banknote.
 7. A banknote conveyor according to claim 6 whereinthe banknote moves relative to at least one point while being conveyed.8. A banknote conveyor according to claim 5 which includes a first and asecond corrugated roller.
 9. A banknote conveyor according to claim 8wherein the first and the second rollers are engageable to create aseal.
 10. A banknote conveyor according to claim 5 which includes afirst and a second cam.
 11. A banknote conveyor according to claim 5which includes three rollers.
 12. A banknote conveyor according to claim5 comprising means for limiting movement of the conveyor if a forcerequired to move the banknote exceeds a predetermined limit.
 13. Abanknote conveyor for conveying a banknote along a direction of intendedmovement, the banknote conveyor being arranged to engage a banknote bymeans of surfaces which define a gap of predetermined configurationwhich is wider than the thickness of the banknote and of non-linearconfiguration so as to cause bending of the banknote when viewed in thedirection of transport so that the force by which the banknote isgripped is dependent upon the rigidity of the banknote and which acts toalign the banknote by conveying the banknote against a reference surfaceorientated substantially in parallel with said intended direction oftravel of the banknote so that the banknote rotates.